The Guardians were like children.
After an enthusiastic introduction by Shihoutu Tokitu, the head chef, we prepared to eat.
We were at the banquet I had proposed, and I noticed how they looked at me with admiration just for chewing.
I had ordered sushi, in honor of the original Momonga.
Immediately, all the Guardians had ordered the same, arguing that it was the dish of the Supreme Beings.
But the downside was that there was no conversation topic.
So, I'd have to start one.
"So, Demiurge, how did your mission go?"
"It went exactly as planned, Ainz-sama. In a week, they'll be caught in your web."
Uhh, that doesn't tell me much.
Well, let's change the subject.
"Aura, Mare, are you eating well?"
"Yes, Ainz-sama. My brother and I eat fruits and vegetables every day, and then we go to bed early."
"Is that so? I'm glad. That will help you grow healthy and strong."
"Hehe, yes," said Mare.
"Ainz-sama, can I feed you this nigiri from the sushi?" Albedo, who was sitting next to me, boldly offered to feed me.
"You, gorilla, don't take advantage of Ainz-sama's kindness," Shalltear, jealous, attacked Albedo. By the way, Shalltear was sitting on my other side.
"Don't worry, Shalltear. Ainz told me I'm his woman, and it's my duty as his woman to feed my man."
"What?! Ainz-sama, is that true?!"
Uh-oh, trouble.
"Ainz-sama," Shalltear tearfully pressed me.
"You brat, stop bothering Ainz-sama. Ainz-sama, tell them what you told me."
I thanked my years of pretending to be Ainz for helping me keep my poker face.
Let's see, how do we get out of this?
"That's right. I consider Albedo my woman."
"Ehhh!" Shalltear cried.
Albedo let out a cry of ecstasy.
Shalltear was depressed but still had enough strength to continue her fight for my love.
"Ainz-sama, c-can I feed you too?"
"Hmm, sure."
Shalltear picked up another piece of sushi from the plate with chopsticks—this time, an uramaki—and fed it to me.
Shalltear perked up at that. "Does that mean I'm your woman too?"
"Ehhh! Ainz-sama doesn't have time for brats like you."
"Shut up, gorilla."
Albedo growled at Shalltear, and Shalltear hissed back.
Women are scary. It was hard to keep my poker face with all this commotion.
So much so that I released a bit of my death aura.
Luckily, my salvation came in the form of Aura.
"You're bothering Ainz-sama, and he was so kind to invite us to eat," Aura said angrily. The male Guardians nodded in agreement.
"I'm sorry, Ainz-sama."
"I'm sorry, Ainz-sama."
"It's fine. I suppose you can both feed me."
After that, the meal went smoothly.
I started asking the Guardians questions—if they liked what they were doing, if they had any suggestions, and if they wanted any rewards.
The answers were predictable. They had no suggestions, and the only reward they wanted was to keep working for me.
All this while I let Albedo and Shalltear feed me satisfactorily.
Until a voice called out to ruin the peace.
"Ainz-sama, now that you have Albedo as your woman, does that mean you'll have a child?"
Mare dropped the bomb.
"Is that why you took the form of a giant human? Right?" Mare asked innocently.
Everyone stared intently, waiting for my response.
Cocytus was muttering something about carrying heirs on his shoulders.
"Hmm, I'm not planning to have children yet. First, we must eliminate all threats."
"Yet…" Albedo drooled, imagining the moment.
"Then, Ainz-sama, what will you do with the human woman you plan to court?"
At that, the Guardians' curiosity reached its peak.
"I'll simply show her kindness. I don't plan to marry her yet. I'll make her accept a free trade agreement."
"A free trade agreement?"
"I see. So, Ainz-sama, by 'courting,' you only meant a treaty, right?" Albedo asked hopefully.
"My mission is to annex the Holy Kingdom. If the opportunity arises to convince its queen that marriage is the best option, then I might take her as my wife. That will make the people of the New World see us less as total outsiders."
It has happened in history where conquerors married the conquered to reduce the hatred of the populace.
I wouldn't mind. I knew from the canon that Calca was a beautiful person who even pitied the demihuman children at her borders.
I was sure she would accept the offers I was going to make if they benefited her country.
Without realizing it, Aura, Shalltear, and Albedo were making unhappy faces.
x-x-x-x-x
And so, time passed, and the meeting with the Holy Kingdom was about to take place.
I decided to go to Kalinsha using a newly acquired Frost Dragon from the Sorcerer Kingdom.
I would use Frost Dragons as messengers, just like in the canon, and give Shalltear the title of Minister of Transportation.
The journey took a few hours but was uneventful.
Although I could have used *Gate* to teleport directly to Kalinsha, I wanted to respect the old ways.
My bodyguards were Aura, Mare, and Sebas.
Three level 100 NPCs—I was sure there would be no problems.
We dismounted the dragon right in front of the Holy Kingdom's walls.
Wow, it was huge.
"I am the Sorcerer King. I have a scheduled meeting with Queen Calca-dono."
The guard was silent for a moment but then reacted.
"Open the gates!"
The chains moved, and the gate lowered, becoming a bridge.
The city of Kalinsha was a dump, like any medieval city, full of poverty and disease.
Soon, we arrived at the fortress of Kalinsha.
And there, I saw Calca, nicknamed by the fandom as the "Hammer of the Holy Kingdom."
A young woman of 25 with long, vibrant golden hair and beautiful cyan eyes. Her face was as beautiful as a freshly bloomed flower, exuding majesty and dignity, earning her the praise "The Treasure of Roble." She was compared to an angel, and many who saw her gentle smile continued to describe her as a saint.
Today, I understood why she had that nickname.
Beside her were two other beautiful ladies: Remedios, the Valkyrie of the Holy Kingdom, and Kelart, the High Priestess of the churches.
It was time for introductions.
We stared at each other tensely. I hadn't read a single bit of royal etiquette since arriving in this world. Maybe I should greet first.
"Calca-dono, it's a delight to see you in person. You're even more beautiful than they say," I said through my mask.
I saw the three women surprised by my compliment. Did I do something wrong?
After a moment of silence, Calca finally spoke.
"The pleasure is all ours," she said with a smile. "To my right is the High Priestess of the Holy Kingdom, and to my left is the leader of the Paladin Order, the White. Behind me are:
- Enrique Bellse: The Blue,
- Orlando Campano,
- Pabel Baraja: The Black,
- Ran Tsu An Rin: The Green,
- Isandro Sanchez: The Pink,
- Old Purple: The Purple."
Each soldier representing a color saluted as they were named.
She's gathering information. I guess the elves with differently colored eyes caught her attention.
In this world, an elf with colored eyes means they come from royalty.
"It's a pleasure to meet you. I am the Sorcerer King, Ainz Ooal Gown. The elves accompanying me are Aura and Mare, my Guardians, and the one beside me is Sebas, my butler," I said simply.
After that introduction, we went to the castle of Kalinsha for negotiations.
"Please, accompany me to the castle for our meeting."
We followed the queen to the castle, where we saw a beautiful hall (by New World standards) decorated with lamps, paintings, and other luxurious items. In the center of the room was a table for the leaders of the nation to conduct negotiations.
Something that made me uncomfortable was how many people were here.
Ten people to ensure the queen's safety: the Nine Colors and Kelart Custodio.
"I'd like to welcome you to the Holy Kingdom. I hope you find your stay here pleasant," Calca began the meeting.
Now, how was I going to convince an absolute monarch that buying my products was the best choice?
"I am. I hope that at the next meeting, you can come to my kingdom."
"I'd be delighted," Calca responded formally, though I doubt she meant it.
"You must be wondering why I've decided to come here with the purpose of trading."
"Yes, it was quite a surprise. What brings you to my domain?"
"Two things," I affirmed. "The first is that we're seeking international support. Aside from the Baharuth Empire, we're not on good terms with human nations due to the controversial way I ended the Re-Estize army. I'd like to compensate for that with your support and that of the Draconic Kingdom," I said, surprising the opposing side.
"Is it true that you killed 170,000 people?" Remedios aggressively joined the conversation.
"Sister!"
"How can you ask for our help after killing so many humans?" Remedios continued, ruining my plan.
"Remedios, be quiet," Calca scolded her.
Remedios calmed down.
"I'm sorry for what my subject did, but I'd also like to ask: is it true that you killed 70,000 people with a single spell?"
"It is."
"Don't you regret killing so many humans?" the queen asked.
Ugh, damn Remedios.
"No. Doing that ensures no one seeks to harm my people. By killing 170,000, I'm guaranteeing peace in the region," I replied with the best answer I could think of, then looked at Remedios. "Any other questions?"
Remedios stayed silent, unaccustomed to someone answering her back and even less accustomed to thinking of a response.
But Calca intervened.
"Weren't there more peaceful methods?"
"Not to reclaim our land. Tell me, wouldn't the human nations have allied against us upon learning that an undead rules a country? No race has a monopoly on pain. Some humans enslave elves, don't they?"
Calca sighed, knowing I was right.
"Alright, then what's the second reason?"
Time to go for it.
"Your beauty."
"Huh?"
"I'm looking for a queen. I heard that in this country, there's a queen who was named a saint for her extreme beauty. Not only that, but she's also kind to all living creatures."
"But you're not human!" Remedios said angrily.
"I-I'm flattered, but I don't think… it's too soon for marriage. I… don't know you well," Calca said nervously.
"That's why I hope you'll have the chance to see my kingdom and see that the rumors are unfounded, Calca-dono."
"I… will visit your kingdom. What resources do you want to sell me?"
With joy (since I had successfully reached this point in the conversation), I opened my inventory and pulled out several items: a sword and a bottle.
"The truth is, my kingdom has several technological advancements. This is magical eye drops, obtained from a human with the same ability as Fluder Paradyne's Magical Eye, which evaluates the magical level of the target. One drop of this in your eye, and you can replicate this ability. No humans were harmed in its development."
"The next item is too large to use here. It's metal golems of higher quality and quantity than the ones you use. They have various uses, such as in agriculture and mining."
I would have offered undead, but the Holy Kingdom was a nation that hated undead, so it made no sense to offer such a thing.
"Third are runic weapons, made by dwarves in the Sorcerer Kingdom. Sharper than any sword."
I saw several members of the Nine Colors looking at the items with curiosity, especially the runic weapons.
"And what does the Sorcerer Kingdom want from us?" This time, it was Kelart Custodio who interrupted the conversation.
"You should be grateful!" Aura shouted.
I immediately had to silence her.
"Aura, respect tradition. Only the rulers are supposed to speak."
"But they haven't stopped questioning you," Aura complained like a child.
"Aura," I warned her, like a father, and continued.
"To answer, I'd like to ask what you can sell us. We're a powerful nation and self-sufficient in food, but we lack resources," I confessed, much to the delight of the Custodio sisters.
"As a necromancer, I can summon undead to fill certain sectors, such as the equestrian industry, by creating undead horses," they shuddered. "But in terms of hides, leather, glass, crystal, precious metals, wool, linen, silk, salt, and spices, we lack those resources," I said, recalling all the products traded in the Middle Ages.
Calca was thoughtful.
"Would we have exclusive rights to this treaty?"
"Aside from the Baharuth Empire, no other nation will have these improvements."
Calca wasn't sure what to do. It was too good a deal to refuse. The Holy Kingdom had always lacked trade due to the demihumans. However, this would worsen relations with Re-Estize, enemies of the Sorcerer Kingdom (or rather, victims).
"We accept. Our nation can trade with yours by passing through the Re-Estize Kingdom. Let's hope for a healthy and lasting relationship over the years, Ainz-dono."